Lobos Take Perfect Record to Beehive State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico takes a perfect 3-0 record on the road to the Beehive State for a pair of difficult non-conference road matches, but ones that should prepare them well for the eventual Mountain West season. The Lobos take on former conference mates BYU and Utah, with UNM visiting the Cougars on Thursday at 11 a.m. and then making the short drive up the hill to face the Utah Utes at 10 am on Friday.
Both matches will be streamed live at golobos.com/watchmtennis, and live scoring is available as well at golobos.com/mtennisstats.
The Lobos are looking for its first 4-0 start to the season since 2014, and that was actually three coaches ago, as UNM opened that 2014 seaosn 7-0 under Alan Dils in what would be his final season. UNM’s 3-0 start encompasses 5-2 home wins over UT Arlington and Gonzaga, and a 6-1 win at New Mexico State. The Lobos will be taking on a 1-1 Cougar squad on Thursday that has a 6-1 home win over Idaho State and a 4-3 home loss to Cal Poly.
Last year, the two teams played twice in Albuquerque, with UNM posting 4-0 wins in both matches. The Lobos regardless of the BYU outcome on Thursday will not have a ton of time to relax, as they face a very good Utah Utes squad less than 24 hours later. The Utes are 4-2, with a 4-0 win over Cal Poly, but a 4-1 loss to Gonzaga on the books. The Utes have won two in a row and feature a ranked singles player in No. 1 Geronimo Busleiman, who is currently No. 37, and the doubles team of Patrick Trhac and Berk Bugarikj, who are ranked 17th this week after being ranked No. 5 last week.
UNM so far has had a perfect start in singles from Arda Azkara at No. 1, who is now 3-0, and from two newcomers in Ryoma Matsushita, who is 3-0 playing in two slots, and Nikolay Sysoev, who is 2-0 and has been named Mountain West Freshman of the Week twice in two chances.
NOTES: UNM trails the all-time series with BYU 33-34-1, and it leads over Utah 35-28.